vent instead of A/C

[metromizer]

I was thinking about this last night on my drove home...

I drive a 'no a/c' 2nd gen metro, which unlike the first gen Metro, has no rear pop-out quarter windows.

Running my fan helps, but the problem is that the intake duct, the air plenum, the fan, the dash vents and entire delivery system are all hot from the car sitting in the parking lot, maybe 130 deg F. The other problem is the incoming air needs some place to go, ideally it would exit the rear of the car, to flush out and cool the interior space. In my case, the air comes into the system at the base of the windsheild, out of the dash and/or floor, and escapes out the side windows. (see what happens when your commute is more than an hour, your mind has lots of time to ponder these things). Rear quarter pop-outs would be a welcome addition to my car.

My experience with older 60's cars (with no ac) has taught me you need cross flow, front to rear air flow, to cool off the human cargo. Rear windows cracked or rear quarter window go a long way to help. In my '96 Metro, I can open both driver and passenger windows a couple inches each and it's ok, but there is no comparison in comfort to other cars I've driven that have better airflow.

An interesting factoid: VW offered some neat cooling features in their air-cooled models over the years. The '51-'53 beetles had vent intakes through the front quarter panels. Rear pop-out quarter windows were always a popular option. For the early buses, cooling options ranged from every window being a pop-out, a pretty elaborated air intake above the windsheild and overhead distribution system. There was also the famous 'Safari Window' option, where both front windsheilds, hinged at the top, could open. I have drive down the interstate with the both windsheilds locked open completely horizontal in my '63 Westfalia Kombi!

The way cars are designed today, the car manufacturers seem to expect everyone will use a/c almost full time. With many models, the rear side windows don't even roll down.

[Johnny Mullet]

I had a 1971 Demon and a 1975 Duster and they both had actual "doors" under the dash that you open and the air would just come rushing in and be cooler than air transferred from a heater/AC system.

It was great when you had shorts on while sitting on vinyl seats. A properly aimed flow made things interesting.

[azraelswrd]

Opening all windows (front + rear) also makes for a quieter ride than just opening the front.

[cfg83]

Johnny M -

Originally Posted by Johnny Mullet

I had a 1971 Demon and a 1975 Duster and they both had actual "doors" under the dash that you open and the air would just come rushing in and be cooler than air transferred from a heater/AC system.

It was great when you had shorts on while sitting on vinyl seats. A properly aimed flow made things interesting.

I'll bet you could make your own as long as you made sure not to cut through anything important (like wires, fuel lines, or critical structural points, ).

Maybe a floor-based cutout would work. Maybe, you press down on a button at the top of the "dead-pedal", and the panel opens. Press again, and it closes.

CarloSW2

[Bicycle Bob]

Remember that such scoops are usually screened against stinging insects. I'd insist on that if it was aimed at my shorts.

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi y'all,

This is something that all cars should do, in the name of better fuel mileage: have passive air flow that actually works. The vent on my xA mixes some air from under the hood (guess what -- it is pretty warm!) with outside air; and the flow is feeble.

How hard could it be?

[ATaylorRacing]

HEY GANG.....I found a great idea at Roshgo Corporation
they have a fan unit that is put in place of a lid on a 25 qt Igloo or 28 qt Coleman cooler and it draws air across the ice and blows 50 degree air out! When I was a mail man the mail trucks would get over 135 degrees inside with the windows open on a sunny 85 degree day...wish I found this back then. One is on its way and will be put in my Geo AND I will use it in the car I race when I am in the pits!

[azraelswrd]

Yeah, I've rigged something like that but it works best in low humidty areas. Too high and that "swamp cooler" won't cut it unless you deal with the excess moisture in the air first. Another thing I don't like about the ice method is the weight though it depends on the road and route speed/condition as to how much impact it could have.

I'm going to stick with the partial windows open as my "plan B", since my tests showed no appreciable difference in that versus windows closed.

[cfg83]

Bicycle Bob -

Originally Posted by Bicycle Bob

Remember that such scoops are usually screened against stinging insects. I'd insist on that if it was aimed at my shorts.

Ha ha ha, I didn't think of that.

Here is one "everything old is new again" option. It would be a play on the triangular venting windows of the old days. The problem with today's cars is that something like the classic version is not readily translatable to modern car designs (unless you're really good at car mods).

When we do our side mirror deletes or downsizes, we end up removing the "mirror triangle" baseplate. If you take out the interior cover, you have a hole to the outside. You could have a screened(!!!) input tube that sits flush when you don't need A/C. When you do, you swivel it on the vertical access to "open" it toward the wind. The inside of the car (where the hand-controlled mirror toggle would be) has a funnel that you can aim at your chest or face.

The idea is, you would sacrifice aero when you use it, but you would get focused air aimed at you for (hopefully) optimum evaporative cooling.

CarloSW2